The Unpaved Road
by Dreamingfox
Summary: Naruto aspires to be a Samurai and to take down the Ninja system. Naruto returns to Konoha.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes –

I do not own Naruto or any of the characters from that verse.

This is an AU fic, and thus the characters are going to be slightly different from their canon counterparts. I've also modeled several other characters after characters from other series rather than create a true OC for certain roles.

Please read and review.

# # # # #

The cool late evening breeze caressed his soft skin as he shivered. Though physically cold, it was nothing compared to the cold looks that the young blond was getting from virtually everyone in the village.

Reaching the playground, he wasn't surprised when several young mothers quickly gathered their children, ushering them away from the park as though his presence alone made the park dirty or tainted.

Walking over to the now vacant swings, the young boy climbed onto the swing. Only the gentle evening breeze propelled him as he sat in silence, completely alone.

He didn't know how long he sat there, but it had to have been a while. He didn't even notice the man and the little girl that came into the park until she pouted.

"Let me down!" the girl cried as she sat on the end of the teeter totter.

The raven haired girl clung to the handle, swinging her legs wildly. On the other side a man wearing a straw hat and an all brown outfit simply kept his leg on the other seat.

"Why don't you ask that boy to play with you?" he suggested, clearly tired of playing with the girl.

The blond boy blinked. An adult was actually suggesting that someone play with him? That only happened when it was the Hokage asking. No one else in the village dared to come anywhere near him.

"Hey kid," the man said loudly, "you wanna play with her?"

The boy nodded. Jumping off the swing, he rushed over to the teeter totter.

Waiting for the man to gently lower the girl to the ground, then for the girl to stand up just enough so that he could sit on the other seat, he smiled. "Ready?"

The girl smiled as she nodded.

The chill of the approaching night disappeared as though dusk had suddenly turned to noon with her smile. It was warm and radiated happiness and kindness.

And then the cold metal seat of the teeter totter hit his bottom, propelling him into the air as the girl sat down on the other end.

Grinning, he readied his legs as she kicked off of the ground. Having never played on the teeter totter before, the boy never knew just how fun the device really was.

# # # # #

The chill of the early autumn air sent shivers up the boy's arm. Running as hard as he was, even he could feel the bite of the early autumn night against his unprotected skin.

"He went that way!" the harsh voice of one of his pursuers declared.

The sound of several footsteps pounding against the packed earth told him that they weren't far behind. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself for what was to come.

"There you are," the brown haired boy huffed. "We'll teach you not to mess with us!"

"Yeah," a scruffy black haired boy added. "You gotta learn ta mind your own business. We had that Hyuga bitch groveling and you had to mess things up for us!"

"She didn't do anything wrong," the blond shouted. "You jerks just like to push people around."

"So what?" the third member, of the group asked. "Someone's gotta show them who's in charge. It ain't her and it definitely ain't you."

The blond glared at the bald boy. All three of the other boys were older than he was, easily at least a year older than he was. Despite their age difference, the blond knew them from the few weeks he'd been in the academy with them – back before he had flunked out. They were much larger than he remembered them, and clearly they had shed their baby fat. Still, they weren't that good.

"Why don't we use him for practice?" the skinny boy with brown hair suggested. "This'll be good taijutsu practice."

The black haired boy grinned as he rushed in, throwing a wicked overhead left.

"Oof!" he exclaimed as the blond ducked under and tackled him.

It was testament to the boy's resiliency that he didn't scream when the other boy elbowed him in the nose. But that was as far as the blond got.

A punishing kick from the brown haired boy connected with the back of the blonde's head. Another kick from the bald boy connected with his ribs, knocking him off of the black haired boy.

Curling up, he absorbed several kicks to the stomach and ribs, and three to the back of his head.

WACK!

The sound of wood meeting flesh forced the blonde's eyes open.

"OW!" the brown haired boy cried as he hopped on one foot.

SMACK!

The black haired boy folded over before collapsing to the ground.

TWACK!

The bald boy slumped over.

"Bad!" a familiar voice cried out.

Turning his head to his rescuer, the blond was surprised to see the slender girl from before holding a short bamboo sword.

"Why don't you get your friends out of here," another voice suggested. Standing behind the girl, the man in brown grabbed her by the back of her shirt, lifting her off the ground. "If I let her go she's going to come after you."

The boy nodded, pulling his unconscious friend off the ground even as the other boy scrambled to his feet. It didn't take long for the boys to flee the small grove.

"Thanks," the blond said as he pulled himself into a sitting position.

In all his years in Konoha no one had ever stood up for him like that. Sure, old man Hokage would punish people afterwards, but he never stepped in like that. True, he had inserted himself on the situation with the Hyuga, but it was the right thing to do. And considering that he'd done the right thing, why the hell hadn't anyone else done that for him before?

"Why don't you head home," the man suggested as he set the small girl down. "It is getting pretty late. I'm sure your parents are wondering where you've gone."

Naruto glanced down at the ground, "I don't have a home." Ignoring his injuries, he stood up. "I don't have any parents."

# # # # #

"It's been six years," the wizened ninja sighed. Looking at the younger ninja before him he forced himself to look at the document he had in his hand. "I realize that your make shift team is still untested, but this is a chance for you to close the book on an unfinished mission."

The grey haired ninja didn't even flinch at the words, his lone eye displaying no emotion.

"I know why you took the Uchiha, and I know you resent the fact that I put her on your team, but considering that we didn't pass enough students to field three squads and due to the loss of her old team, it was for the best," the old man said. "Besides, I'm sure that it's good for Sasuke to know that he's not the best on his team."

"Who's the source of the information?" the younger ninja asked as he eyed the dossier.

"That's classified," the older ninja replied. "I trust the source completely."

"So he became a samurai then," the jonin remarked. "He even carries several katana with him."

The Hokage eyed his subordinate, "I want you to bring him back whole and alive."

# # # # #

The partly cloudy sky overhead made the day all the more tolerable for the brooding youth as he leaned against the railing of the bridge. With his raven black hair and blue jacket absorbing much of the light from the late summer sun the clouds provided him with a bit of a respite from the heat. Though he could have easily moved into the shade as he waited for his jonin-sensei, the young aspiring ninja did not want to venture too far from his team's usual meeting spot.

Besides, the closest shade (aside from being under the bridge) was already occupied by both of his teammates. And he really did not want to be too close to either of them.

Eyeing the young Hyuga, Sasuke hoped that she wouldn't bring him down. As the top student of his graduating class he'd been saddled with the worst. Yet thus far it had been Hinata Hyuga who had done the bulk of the work on their missions. True, they were all D Class missions, and she needed to do the most just to keep pace with him, but this mission would be different.

Kakashi-sensei had specifically told them that he'd acquired a B-class mission for them today. That would mean that they could actually leave the village with him.

True, Team Seven had probably been given the mission because they had an exceptional genin like himself, but the fact that they also had a chunin acting as the second for their jonin-sensei probably weighed into the decision as well.

Stealing a glance at the older of his two teammates, the Uchiha heir scowled. Though she had graduated from the academy two years before him, Hitomi was actually three years older than he was. Having attained the rank of chunin just before his class had graduated from the Academy. Unfortunately her teammates had died during the exams, thus leaving her without a team. As luck would have it, the Academy had not passed enough students to field three full squads.

Yes, Hitomi was a welcome addition to Team Seven as her presence allowed them to take more than just D Class missions, but Sasuke couldn't help but bristle every time she ordered him to do something. Who was she to boss him around? It didn't help that Kakashi-sensei often left her in charge of his training so that he could help train the weakling Hyuga.

"Yo," Kakashi-sensei said, announcing his presence and breaking Sasuke out of his brooding. As always the jonin was holding one of those disgusting orange books and reading with his one visible eye. Even a mask would have revealed more about him than his usual attire as much of his face was covered by either his lopsided forehead protector that hung over his left eye and the grey mask that he wore which covered everything below his eyes.

"Good afternoon sensei," the always polite Hinata said as she left the shade of the tree. Bowing, her head so that the others could see the edge of the bandage she wore beneath her forehead protector.

"Good afternoon," the other girl chorused as she appeared on the railing opposite of the one that their team leader stood on. Unlike the jonin, the chunin was at least just leaning on the railing rather than standing on it.

"Everyone's packed?" the jonin asked as he stepped down from the railing.

"Yes, sensei, we're all packed," Hinata answered. "We packed two weeks of provisions as well as our usual equipment."

"What's this mission?" the impatient Uchiha demanded.

"We're going to back up Team Eight," Kakashi stated.

Sasuke grinned. He didn't care much for his 'rival', even when the Inuzaka heir had tried to boast about his team's mission. He knew that the dog-ninja had wanted to impress the Hyuga and his rival, but the fact that Team Seven had already taken several C Rank missions already made Kiba even angrier. The fact that their squad had requested back up and that Team Seven would be the ones rushing to assist them would rile him up even more.

"After that," Kakashi added, "we're to head into Water Country."

The junior members of his squad looked up.

"We're to find someone," he paused for dramatic effect, "and then bring him back to Konoha."

The two genin and the chunin eyed their jonin-sensei.

"I'll brief you once we're on the road," Kakashi stated. "After all, it'll take us two days to reach Wave Country."

# # # # #

The heavy, damp air felt stifling to the young warrior. Though the morning was relatively cool the aspiring samurai was covered in sweat despite the fact that he appeared to be standing motionless.

The sound of the weighted blades in his hands as they cut through the air told a different story.

'_1, 2, 3, 9997, 1, 2, 3, 9998, 1, 2, 3, 9999, 1, 2, 3, 10000,'_ the boy counted as he completed his sets of four repetitions.

Taking a deep breath, he sheathed the blades before removing the weights on his arms.

"You're finally done with your practice I see," a short, balding man with a well trimmed grey mustache grumbled. "I want you to check up on the ninjas – make sure that Zabuza finishes the job that I paid him to do."

The youth nodded silently. Despite his distain for ninja, he knew that they were useful and very capable fighters. Still, he hated having to spy on them, not that he'd actually do that as he would probably announce that he was present and that he was watching. Besides, they did have some useful techniques that didn't rely on being sneaky and deceptive.

Not bothering to wipe the sweat from his brow, the young samurai set off. Though he did not know Zabuza well, he did know how the powerful rogue ninja operated. The man was a water type, thus he would choose the place that favored his particular set of skills the most. True, he could wait for the old man and his guardians to actually board a boat, but Gato had insisted on taking the target as soon as possible.

Considering the information that was given, the samurai believed he knew just where the Demon of the Hidden Mist would strike.

# # # # #

"We don't need to wait for any back up," the wild haired boy protested. "We were able to handle those two chunin easily."

With a sigh, Kurenai eyed her over eager genin. "They're almost here," she stated, silencing the genin. "Besides, we had to travel slowly to make sure that the poison that they hit you with was completely out of your system. You're just lucky that Shino's insects were able to draw out the little poison that did get into your wound."

The wild haired boy ground his teeth in annoyance. It didn't matter that his opponent had been a chunin and he was only a mere genin, but the fact that he'd been cut during his fight had been irritating. He'd known that the two ninja were using poison laced weapons, yet he'd done his best against the more experienced ninja. Still, he'd been cut. Though the wound was far from fatal, the poison hit him hard and fast, knocking him out of the fight and keeping his team from completing their escort mission on time.

"With Kurenai-sensei's genjutsu on them we won't have to worry about the Demon Brothers," the pinkette stated.

"If I wanted a flat-chested girl's opinion I'd have asked," Kiba barked as he turned his back on his teammate.

WHACK!

"What did you say?" the offended and very angry kunoichi shouted.

Their teammate eyed them through his dark shades, "I'm surprised you haven't learned to not turn your back on her when you taunt her like that."

Their jonin-sensei refrained from burying her face in her palms. After all, what kind of impression would that give to their client? "Knock it off," she hissed. "Our back up's here."

Immediately the wild haired boy and the pinkette stood at attention. That suddenly changed when they spotted their backup squad.

"Sasuke-kun!" the pinkette cried out.

"Hinata!" the wild boy greeted.

Their remaining teammate simply nodded.

"So, you ran into the Demon Brothers of the Mist," the slacker leader of Team Seven stated as he eyed the two bound ninja. "You've got them under a genjutsu."

"They're nuke-nin," the other jonin stated. "They've got a reasonable bounty on their heads. I think we should take them back to Konoha and collect on the bounty. It should improve our relations with the Mist."

The grey haired ninja nodded as he considered the green jonin's position. "But keeping them around might come back to bite us in the ass. If we wanted to collect the bounty we could just take their heads. But bringing them back whole might be seen as Konoha trying to use their corpses to steal whatever jutsu that they have. I guess we can bring them back. I know there aren't many in Konoha who have powerful water jutsu. Still, we could just kill them and store their bodies in a containment scroll."

The genjutsu mistress eyed her counterpart as he pulled out a scroll. "Do you want the honors or shall we?"

"Kiba, Sakura, take their heads," Kurenai ordered.

"B-but.."

"They wouldn't hesitate to do the same to us," Kiba shrugged as he cracked his knuckles. Smirking, he eyed his rival as he stood behind the hapless chunin. Grabbing the man's head he pulled. A sickening crack told them all that he'd snapped the man's neck cleanly, giving him a painless death.

Gulping, Sakura also eyed the Uchiha heir as she got into position behind the other chunin. Fighting the urge to throw up, she grabbed hold of the man's head and pulled. _'You can do it! Don't be weak in front of Sasuke-kun!'_

Another sickening crack filled the clearing as Sakura broke the defenseless ninja's neck. Fighting the urge to not throw up, the pinkette pulled back and let the body drop to the ground.

# # # # #

Watching the scene before him, Naruto couldn't help but repress his killer intent. Though he'd killed before, he'd never done it in cold blood. Every kill had been on the battlefield where his opponent had every chance to defend himself and even kill him. Seeing the ninja kill two of their own in cold blood though sickened him.

Though the majority of them were young, he knew that they were still deadly. They had after all just slaughtered two hapless ninja after apparently capturing the pair. Still, they weren't prepared for what was about to befall them. Even the two jonin present had not noticed the fog creeping up around them.

Yes, Zabuza was present, and given the numbers against him, his ever present aid was near by as well. Still, they were at a great disadvantage.

"I think you're going to need my help," the blond muttered.

"I think we will," the masked boy said as his head emerged from the trunk of a tree. "We were hoping to have the Demon Brothers help against them, but we got here just a bit too late. But can you fight without the use of your eyes?"

"Can you?"

The two youths eyed each other.

"Make sure you don't get in the way," the husky voice of the bandaged ninja hissed. "Haku, make sure you don't take these children lightly – we can't afford to play around with two jonin."

The two young fighters nodded.

"Wait for my signal."

"The fog won't work," Naruto stated. "The girl in white – she's a Hyuga."

The older ninja eyed the girl in the distance. "You've got good eyes kid."

"The brat with the dog is an Inuzaka, so we won't be able to sneak up on them either," the blond added. "Your best bet for a quick and easy kill is to hit them on the water."

"So you want us to wait until they get in a boat?" the masked boy asked.

Naruto nodded. "I'm sure Gato wouldn't mind so long as you succeed. Attacking now would guarantee failure."

# # # # #

He hated subterfuge. But not as much as he hated sneak attacks. Still, they were outnumbered and thus forced to use less then desirable tactics.

Then again, not all ninja tricks were bad. The ability to walk on water and virtually any surface was nice. Well, it was especially nice right now as the blond samurai stood on the cool, liquid surface as he waited for the boat bearing the ninja and their client.

Despite the fog, it was clear to the samurai that the rogue ninja were in place, each ready to pounce once their prey was in place.

The sound of the gentle motor told him that the Leaf ninja were quickly approaching his position.

'_Fifty-six meters,'_ he gauged, listening to the sound of the motor and the boat crashing against the waves.

Suddenly the sound of a giant blade cutting through wood and metal broke the monotony as Zabuza launched his attack.

'_Damn, I must have drifted,'_ the bond mental scolded himself as he raced towards the destroyed boat.

In a flash he covered the distance, his feet producing just enough chakra to increase the surface tension of the water to the point that he could run on it. Reading the movement of the water beneath his feet he scowled_, 'They can't even walk on water!'_

"Sasuke-kun!" the pinkette shouted even as she treaded water, sending more ripples towards the approaching blond.

Spotting the Inuzaka's head sticking out of the water, the blond stepped on it, kicking off and sending the dog user under even as the samurai launched himself over a barrage of kunai.

"Hitomi, Hinata," the male jonin shouted, "protect Mr. Tazuna! I'll take care of the attacker!"

"You're at a disadvantage," the bandaged ninja proclaimed. "Half of you can't even walk on water, and we're at least fifteen meters deep at this point, not to mention the current. Do you think you can actually protect your client and fight us the way you are?"

"We've managed so far," the raven haired jonin stated as she moved towards the chunin. Behind her the smaller girl also moved into a defensive position.

The slight whistle of several high speed senbon needles alerted the female jonin to the other rogue ninja's presence. Leaping back, she was forced to draw a kunai to deflect several of the projectiles. "So far," the masked ninja stated. "Even though our first strike failed to kill the target, I do not think he'll survive being trapped in ice."

The chunin slammed her fist against the newly formed ice. "Hinata, can you break it?"

The tiny kunoichi stared at the strange ice then shook her head. "I can only make so he can breath, but he'll still freeze."

"You can't," the grey haired ninja replied as he pulled the forehead protector away from his concealed eye. "It's a kekkei genkai ability."

"I'm not surprised that the famed Copy Ninja knows about kekkei genkai," the Demon of Bloody Mist stated. "As you've seen, your target's as good as dead. Just leave him here for us to finish him off and see to your genin. We're not here to kill Leaf ninja after all."

"You're just fucking pussies!" the wild boy cried out as he grabbed hold of part of the sundered boat. "We killed your men and you're just going to let us go? I doubt it. You're going to try to avenge your men once our backs are turned."

Naruto shook his head. _'They really are green.'_

"We're nothing like you," the masked ninja stated. "We wouldn't kill hapless ninja, but if you insist on fighting, then we'll gladly kill you and avenge our comrades."

Rather than let the boy dig a deeper hole, Naruto promptly appeared over the Inuzaka heir, kicking him in the side of the head. Reaching down, Naruto pulled the now unconscious boy out of the water, throwing him casually at his jonin sensei. "You're at a disadvantage," he stated. "The next one won't be so fortunate."

The unusual red eye locked on him, sending a slight chill down his spine. Shaking his head, he slapped his hand to his forehead, breaking the genjutsu. "That won't work against me," he stated, looking the other man in the eyes even as he reached for his special wakizashi. "Do that again and I promise you that I'll take one of your genin."

"Genjutsu don't work against the boy," Zabuza stated. "I guess that's one of the tricks you get with a Sharingan."

'_Destroy the Sharingan,'_ the dark voice inside of the blonde's head urged. _'Kill the Uchiha!'_

Naruto could feel his blood boiling as he eyed the Leaf ninja. Though the voice rarely spoke to him, it usually did so only taunt him for his short comings. For it to urge him to kill so lightly was something new altogether.

The sound of steel as a sword was quickly drawn though broke the pregnant silence. The feel of the incredible attack cut right through him, freeing him of its dark urges even as it cut through the nearly indestructible ice.

"What?" Zabuza exclaimed as he pulled out his massive blade, ready for battle.

"The job's over," a new voice proclaimed. "Gato's dead." Pulling out a bundle he threw it at the female jonin.

Unwrapping it the raven haired woman revealed the severed head of the now deceased businessman.

"You took out Zori and Waraji," the blond stated as he kept his hand on his wakizashi.

The man in brown nodded as he grabbed the broken ice, ripping it apart to free the man inside.

The blond didn't need to feel her gentle hand on his arm to know that she was there; after all, she'd freed him of the voice once again with her special techniques.

"I guess it's pointless to fight right now, isn't it?" the grey haired ninja said as he lowered his forehead protector over his special eye. "What's your name?"

The man holding the unconscious architect simply shrugged as he handed over the unconscious man.

"Ah, where are my manners," the jonin added as he accepted the body. "I am Kakashi Hatake."

"The Copy Ninja," the older samurai stated. "Yes, I know of you. But now is not the time for pleasantries. Take care of our client."

"He hired you too?" Zabuza growled.

The samurai simply shrugged. "I suppose this would have been your pay," he said as he pulled out a sack of coins. Throwing it at the bandaged ninja he eyed his students. "Come boy, girl, our business here is done."

"Wait," the Copy Ninja shouted, "what are your names?"

"Ask his daughter," the brown clad ninja stated. "After all, she's the one who hired us."

# # # # #

"All that for 100 ryo," Naruto sighed as he eyed the bowl of ramen placed before him.

"We're not ninja," the girl beside him countered. "And they couldn't afford much anyways."

The blond ninja didn't bother eyeing his petite teammate. The slender girl was only a year older than himself, but her mastery of the sword was far greater. Then again, she had been studying under her master since she could walk. Yet despite the years of hard training she was deceptively pretty as her unblemished skin made many think that she was soft and unskilled in the art of the sword. In truth she was twice the swordsman that most of her peers were, her quick sword keeping any and all weapons from marring her skin.

"Time to go," their master and mentor said, standing up abruptly. Grabbing a giant rice ball from his tray he shoved the rest of the food into his pack.

As samurai, they were rarely welcome when ninja were around. There was a reason why the ninja were the greatest military forces in the elemental countries, and they didn't like dealing with any competition, especially samurai. The fact that they'd been hired to kill a businessman at rates far cheaper than what ninja worked for would not bode well for them.

# # # # #

"Your orders are to guard the client until the bridge is completed," Kakashi stated as he handed a scroll to Kurenai.

The genjutsu master nodded as she opened the scroll and read the order. "What about your team?"

"We're going to investigate those samurai," the grey haired ninja stated.

Rolling up the scroll the kunoichi eyed her counterpart. "It's him, isn't it?"

The Copy Ninja quickly eyed the area, "Yes."

"Those whisker marks," she added, "they gave him away. It's been what, six years?"

The other jonin simply turned around.

"If you're going after them, make sure your squad knows how to walk on water," the red eyed woman suggested. "I can't believe that you haven't even taught them that yet."

# # # # #

"Jubei Kibagami," the bandaged ninja called out.

Looking up, the three samurai eyed the pair of formidable ninja as they leapt down onto the road.

"The Wind Samurai," the taller ninja growled, finishing the samurai's title. "I've heard much about you."

"And I've heard much about you too," the samurai replied. "Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of Bloody Mist. There's a 20,000,000 ryo bounty on your head."

"And yours is 10,000,000 more than mine," the muscular ninja replied. "I can't believe that the only one I didn't kill has a bounty higher than mine."

"You know him?" the masked ninja asked.

"We used to live in Hidden Mist, both of us aspired to become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and only I managed to do so," the powerful ninja stated. "Jubei never joined the academy though – he was taken under the wing of a wandering samurai that defeated my predecessor. To think that I'd run into you here of all places.

"But I'm not here to reminisce. No, I'm here to make you an offer."

The two men eyed each other for a moment.

"What's your offer?" Jubei finally said, breaking the silence.

A noticeable smile formed on the bandaged ninja's face, a considerable feat since the lower half of his faced was bandaged. "My boy Haku needs two teammates to form a complete squad."

"Why would I want my students working with your ninja?" Jubei asked.

"The job requires a three man squad of genin," the rogue ninja stated. "I was going to pass on this job, but then I realized your kids would be perfect for the job."

"What kind of job is it?"

Again the Demon of Bloody Mist smirked. "It's a recognizance and possible hit if you get the chance. If the job is successful they're paying 10,000 ryo just for the recon and 50,000,000 for the hit. They're even willing to take you on as vassals just for taking the job."

It sounded too good to be true. And for that much money it had to be someone considered S-Class.

"I'll need to meet with the client before I can agree to anything," Jubei stated.

Zabuza nodded. "That's what I figured. Why don't we leave the runts behind so that we can meet with the client?"

The tall samurai glanced at his pupils, "Go ahead, we'll catch up with you."

Despite his inherent distrust of ninja, Naruto knew better than to argue with his sensei. The man was a master for a reason, and coming from a ninja village like he had he knew the risks of dealing with the tricksters.

'_I want to fight him,'_ the raven haired boy thought as he chased after his jonin-sensei. _'He's no older than I am yet he can already walk on water – and he's a samurai!'_

'_It's him,'_ the young raven haired girl thought. _'It's definitely him! I have to prove myself to him!'_

'_I can't believe he's not even bothering to teach them to walk on water,_' the brunette thought as she followed her jonin sensei. _'I always knew there was a reason why he failed all his genin squads, but I never thought it was because he was such a horrible teacher! I'm really going to have my hands full when we get back, if I'm still with the squad that is. I'll definitely have to teach them tree climbing and water walking.'_

'_Damn, I should have had Hitomi teach them tree climbing and water walking,'_ the grey haired ninja thought. _'I guess I'll wait until we get back to have her work on that with them.'_

The sound of distant baying caught his attention. Recognizing the dog's cry, he eyed the trees before him. Landing, he shifted his weight and leapt towards a tree on his right. Trusting that his squad would be able to adjust their course on their own, he simply led the way.

# # # # #

"We're being followed," the masked ninja stated.

"Probably the Inuzaka," the blond samurai added.

The raven haired girl shook her head, "I don't think so – this dog sounds older and bigger than that little pup. There's more than one dog following us, but I'm sure that they're definitely telling someone where we are."

"I can hide our trail," the rogue Mist ninja added, but it's going to take most of my chakra.

Naruto nodded, following the other boy's eyes to the branches overhead.

In a flash the trio was leaping through the trees.

Pulling out several kunai, Haku attached several special notes as they ran. Infusing them with his special chakra, he sprang off of a branch, launching himself over the trees and into the air. Reaching the apex of his jump, he spun around, throwing all of his kunai and the special tags.

Crashing through the canopy, it was clear that he was nearly spent.

Naruto quickly adjusted his course, moving to intercept the falling ninja. Just as he reached caught Haku he heard the sky rumble.

"The conditions were perfect," the masked boy stated. "All that was needed was a catalyst."

The blond smirked.

"The rain should wash away our scent," Setsuna stated. "That'll keep them off our trail for awhile."

# # # # #

A/N

Please Review.

Dreamingfox


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes –

This is an AU fic for Naruto.

# # # # #

The soothing hot water of the hot springs seemed to work wonders for his exhausted muscles. Having spent the afternoon sparring with other traveling samurai and against the young rogue ninja, Naruto sighed contently.

The trip to the hidden inn had taken them three days – three rain soaked days. Still, they had managed to elude their pursuers, at least for now. Only the fact that Haku was a rogue ninja had been an issue for the trio as the hidden inn was run by a retired samurai and his wife and they did not take kindly to ninja. In truth much of the region did not like ninja. The few villages around had been ravaged by the ninja during the last great ninja war.

Earth techniques had destroyed their fields. The forests and woods were lined with long forgotten traps and explosive tags, making it impossible for the residents to use the trees to rebuild their destroyed homes and shops as well as preventing the local wildlife from seeing shelter in the woods.

Yes, they could have petitioned one of the villages to send a team of ninja to clean out the forests of the traps, or to have some them clear out the rocks and boulders that filled the fields, but no one had the money needed to pay the ninja for such a job.

Though few in the area cared for the young ninja, the trio had gone a long ways to earn the villagers' trust. With Haku's assistance Naruto and Setsuna were able to remove many of the traps from several smaller patches of woods. They'd even managed to kill a few deer and sell them to the local butcher.

Their second day had been spent clearing several fields of the giant boulders that littered them. The hard stones allowed the two samurai to build their muscles as they held the sledge hammers as though they were swords, and broke the stones down into smaller rocks that they carted off of the field.

Two days of hard work had earned them some time in the hot springs.

"Is this all that you samurai do?" the young ninja asked as he slipped into the hot water opposite of the blond.

"Work hard?" Naruto replied. "Yes."

"The jobs you did are usually jobs given to Genin, and the pay you received for all of them is what one of those jobs would not have been enough to cover one of them," Haku stated.

"We're samurai," the blond replied, "we work cheap. Besides, not everyone can afford to hire ninja for every job, and not every job requires chakra or ninjutsu to get done."

"Why do you dislike ninja?" Haku asked as he eyed Naruto.

"It's not that I dislike ninja," the blond replied, "but the ninja system as a whole is flawed. What's honorable about being secretive, deceptive, and misleading?"

"It's a way of life," the other boy replied. "Would you rather that we allow bandits and rogues to run wild?"

"But you are a rogue," the blond countered. "You're not affiliated with any village and left your own village because of a failed coup."

"So we are," Haku replied. "We do what we must to live."

# # # # #

"We do what we must to live," Haku said, his voice drifting over the barrier separating the men's side from the women's side of the hot springs.

The fair skinned girl continued to listen even as she wiped down her nodachi.

"We there's a difference between living and surviving," Naruto's booming voice cut in. "Animals survive, but we're supposed to live. Shouldn't we also have a higher purpose?"

"I have a purpose," the other boy countered. "I am Master Zabuza's tool. I will do everything in my power to help him accomplish his dreams, even if it requires me to lay down my life."

Setsuna smiled. He was like her, living for someone else – devoting her life to help someone else achieve their dream.

"At least you have a purpose," the blond grumbled.

"And what is your dream then?" Haku inquired, his curiosity getting the better of him. "Do you aspire to create a world without ninja?"

"No," Naruto replied, "there will always be a place for ninja. What I want to do is destroy the ninja system that rules the lands. Even though there are various lords who rule the lands, the ninja villages control all the military power. I don't want the ninja to be the only ones with that kind of power. I'm going to make the world realize that ninja are not the only ones with power."

"You wish to be recognized," Haku interjected. "Famous even, but how will you do that?"

"I'm going to become more powerful than any kage and create a village that isn't dependent on ninja," the blond proclaimed.

Setsuna smiled. She couldn't help but smile. Every time she heard him make that proclamation she couldn't help but be infected by his bountiful energy.

But as good as he was she knew that he still had a long and dangerous road to travel before he could fulfill his dream. Hopefully she would be at his side for most of that journey.

# # # # #

The light drizzle annoyed the ancient ninja.

'No, it's not the rain,' he thought as he eyed the squad before him. "So you ran out of rations for your team and decided to declare the mission a failure," he stated as he eyed the grey haired ninja.

"Yes, sir," Kakashi replied.

"Your team pursued for over three weeks before calling off the search," the Hokage stated. "But an unexpected rain storm prevented you from finding him."

The jonin simply stood still while the veteran ninja re-read the mission report for the fourth time.

"Give your team the rest of the week off," the venerable ninja ordered without looking at his subordinate.

"And me?"

"I want you to work with the ANBU on security for the coming Chunin Exams," the Hokage elaborated. "After the week is over I want you to be there when your squad gets their missions but I want you to continue to work with the ANBU on the security detail. Your chunin will take over training the genin in your absence."

Kakashi nodded. "What of the Chunin Exams?"

Steely eyes glanced up at him, then back to the report. "I'll have a genin from another squad replace Hitomi. She can oversee your squad's training so that you can work on the security detail."

Again the jonin nodded. Seeing that he was dismissed, he vanished in a puff of smoke.

# # # # #

"Good job," the busty kunoichi said as she watched her two teammates approach the river. With their morning missions complete and their jonin-sensei absent, it fell on the chunin to lead the squad in their afternoon exercises. "I know you both have been hearing about the Chunin Exams that Konoha will be hosting next month. Since I'm a Chunin, I cannot participate in the exam. As such the Hokage has found someone to place on our team to replace me until the exams are over."

Sensing the slight rustling of leaves behind her, the chunin turned towards the newly arrived ninja. "This is your new teammate – Kabuto Yakushi."

"Hn," the ever dark and brooding Uchiha heir greeted.

"Welcome to our squad," Hinata greeted with a polite bow.

"Thank you," the grey haired ninja replied. "You must be Sasuke Uchiha," he glanced at the raven haired boy, "and you are obviously Hinata Hyuga."

"Hai," the kunoichi nodded.

"Kabuto graduated from the academy with me, but his teammates were injured and are currently on the inactive list until they recover from their injuries," Hitomi explained. "He's also participated in the last seven Chunin Exams."

Both Hinata and Sasuke appeared to pick up on that interesting tidbit of information.

"Obviously not every genin who participates in the Exam becomes a Chunin, but you should know that a good number of genin do not survive the Exams as well," Kabuto stated. "Not everyone is as fortunate as Hitomi."

# # # # #

"You're here for the Chunin Exams?" the Leaf Jonin asked as the scruffy looking ninja eyed the new comers.

"Yeah," the brown clad ninja replied.

"Naruto…." Aoba read aloud, "no last name?"

"He's an orphan," the foreign jonin replied.

"Still, no last name?" Raido asked.

"He was the only survivor of a bandit attack and his parents had no identifying papers on them," the brown clad jonin replied. "The ninja that found him named him after a character in a book. Unfortunately the character didn't have a last name."

The two Leaf ninja shrugged.

"And the bandages?" Raido asked.

"He was badly burned by the bandits," the Steel Jonin answered.

"Setsuna Sakurazaki," the Aoba read as he moved onto the next genin.

The pale girl nodded as the jonin eyed her.

"Haku Momochi," Raido said as he turned his attention to the third and final member of the Steel squad.

The effeminate ninja nodded.

"Well, your paperwork looks good," the scarred ninja finally said as he stamped their papers. Waving over to a chunin, he handed the papers back to the Steel Jonin. "Iruka will show you to your assigned quarters."

The brown clad ninja nodded.

"Please, follow me," the scarred chunin said as he greeted the foreign squad.

With no other foreign teams waiting to report in, the two jonin relaxed.

"So Steel's finally fielding a team of ninja?" the brown haired and scarred ninja asked.

"Looks like it," Aoba replied.

Raido shrugged, "Aren't they known for their samurai?"

"Yep," the raven haired ninja replied. "That's probably why we don't have any of their 'jonin' in our bingo books or why we don't have any info on their 'genin'. They're probably just little samurai in training and want to see how their kids fair against real ninja."

The other jonin shrugged. "Yeah, that blond did have two katana and two wakizashi, and the girl had a nodachi."

"She's got at least a dozen smaller wakizashi on her as well," Aoba added.

"Probably."

# # # # #

'_Six years,'_ the blond 'ninja' thought as he discretely eyed the village as he walked down the streets. _'That used to be the ramen shop… looks like it's a sushi shop now… and there's the market… they don't look to be doing too well… It hasn't changed that much I guess.'_

"These will be your quarters," the chunin known as Iruka stated as he stopped by a door. "Once you're done you can stop by the restaurant district which is three streets over. The hotel also offers some catering and you can ask the receptionists for directions to other eateries as well. They can also direct you towards any unused training fields as well.

"As guests from another nation, we do ask that all of you refrain from any using any techniques or weapons in non-training designated areas. If you need anything, you may check with the chunin squad in the lobby."

"Thank you," Jubei said as he opened the door to the assigned apartment.

As one of the last groups to register for the Chunin Exams, Jubei knew that his 'team' had little time to adjust to the village. Though most of the major villages had exceptional smiths and merchants that could get you almost anything you wanted, Konoha was particularly spectacular in that they were more of an economic power than they were a military power. Merchants and vendors usually hired Leaf ninja to escort their caravans in exchange for setting up cheap shops for their ninja.

Still, they had stocked up in Steel Country, a relatively small but resource rich nation that was home to some of the greatest sword smiths around. Both Naruto and Setsuna had purchased a second set of weapons – katana and wakizashi for the former and a nodachi and several wakizashi for the later – adding to their complement. Even the ninja Haku had picked up a ninjato and several wakizashi to make him blend in with the others.

Despite their rich resources, Steel Country was virtually desolate. The frozen tundra and the fact that it neighbored Snow Country made it virtually inaccessible to anyone without a sturdy boat and a good captain. One of the few countries to rely on samurai over ninja, Steel was still seen as a developing nation.

Ninjas tended to avoid Steel and Snow Country as the snow covered lands were home to a strange ore that disrupted chakra. Properly refined, the weapons or armor could amplify or negate chakra.

Looking at the two toned blade in his hand he sighed, _'If only they knew.'_

Steeling a glance at his protégé, he wondered about the boy. It'd been six years since he'd found the boy in this very village. Though he had relented and accepted the boy as his apprentice, Jubei had not realized just how complicated things would be.

Like most ninja, Naruto possessed the ability to mold and manipulate the Manipura Chakra, one of the seven primary chakras. The strange seal on his navel that appeared whenever he focused his chakra was proof that he'd had that point altered. Fortunately Samurai did not focus on just the Manipura, or Solar Plexus. Still, the boy had to work hard to develop his Muladhara, Swadhisthana, and Anahata chakras, but only at the cost of his swordsmanship. Though Setsuna was better with a sword, she lacked Naruto's creativity and energy. While he would never be a truly great technical swordsman, he was already a good samurai with a sound understanding of the various weapons techniques. Though far from the quickest and wittiest person, he did have the ability to see into a person's true nature and somehow win people over to his side.

As host to one of the great tailed demons, the boy still managed to maintain a sunny disposition. Yes, there were times when he would feel down, he'd never stay down for long.

"Naruto," he said as he pulled out a small pouch full of ryo, "take the team out for some practice and dinner. Be back here by 10pm – you've got a long day ahead of you tomorrow."

# # # # #

"You're sure that's him?" the pinkette asked as she walked with her teammates.

"Positive," the wild boy replied. "I managed to get his scent before he knocked me out."

"We cannot engage them," the third member of their squad stated in his droning monotone. "Just because they might have taken a mission that overlapped with ours, we cannot engage other squads that are here for the Chunin Exam."

"Shino's right," Sakura nodded. "But we have to let someone know."

"Right," Kiba grinned.

# # # # #

'_You're home,'_ the voice growled. _'You can exact some measure of revenge during the exams.'_

Naruto scowled as he waited for his order. With his mouth hidden beneath the large bandage that covered his face he was sure that no one would notice.

"Stop scowling," Haku said with a slight smile. "The food's almost here."

"He's just not happy that he couldn't find a good ramen stand," Setsuna offered as she poured some tea for herself and Haku.

"There used to be a great ramen stand over there," the blue eyed boy lamented. "I wonder if they relocated to another village?"

A calming hand rested on his, causing the Voice to growl even as it retreated. "Our order's almost ready."

The blond smiled even as the waiter appeared with their order.

Halfway through the meal (made all the more difficult with his bandaged face), the blond noticed a presence.

"You just now noticed?" the only real ninja in their group replied.

Shrugging, the blond turned his attention back to his stir-fried soba, "It was bound to happen."

Wiping his lips, he covered his mouth with the bindings, activating the seal. _'Yeah, we did run into them in Wave and they're supposed to be a tracking unit.'_

"You," the raven haired ninja exclaimed as he and his unit stomped into the café's tiny patio, "what's your name?"

"Me?" Haku blushed as he playfully touched his chest. "I'm flattered, but I don't swing that way."

Naruto nearly spit his food up despite the fact that his face was bandaged to hide his whisker marks.

"Not you!" the proud young ninja scowled. "Him!"

"Oh," the nuke-nin replied, "so you do swing that way?"

"How dare you?" a screeching voice interjected as the pinkette from that mission suddenly appeared. "What do you think Sasuke-kun is? He clearly wants to know your teammate's name"

"Because he's gay?" Setsuna cut in. "I though he like Haku because of his good looks at first too."

The pinkette blinked, her mouth agape as she fought to find the right words to respond with.

"No," a new ninja said, "Sasuke merely wants to know the names of note-worthy ninja, and your companion appears to be one of them."

The blond looked up at the grey haired ninja. The new ninja was clearly older than they were, and he lacked a chunin's vest, marking him as a genin, but he seemed to move deceptively and carefully, marking him as an experienced ninja. Though his face appeared to be soft and innocent, his eyes and muscles told a different story altogether. No, this man was a true ninja – deceptive and stealthy.

"If he wants to know, then he'll have to inquire when we're not busy," Naruto replied. "As you can see, my team is currently enjoying dinner together. He can ask us tomorrow before the Chunin Exams."

"That's if your team was selected to participate in it," Haku added, his slight clearly hitting the mark with the over-eager Uchiha.

"Why you!" Sasuke shouted as he launched himself at the effeminate boy.

Haku simply smiled as the smaller boy tackled him. The sudden disappearance of the three Steel genin and the appearance of three logs with faces etched into them though told everyone what had happened.

"So," the waiter said as he approached the table, "you'll be picking up the tab?"

Sasuke blinked, clearly surprised by the turn of events. "Huh?"

"Yes," Hinata quickly answered as she accepted the bill. Looking down, she activated her Byakugan, scanning the area for the three Steel genin. Frowning, she deactivated it quickly as she pulled out the money to pay for their meal. "Sorry for the disruption."

# # # # #

The early morning light greeted the eager genin as they approached the exam building. Several other teams were milling around the entrance, a slight murmur from those at the front seemed to imply that something was up.

"You mooks don't deserve to take the exam," a scarred boy exclaimed, pushing a large genin down and away from the door.

Naruto blinked then shook his head. 'Genjutsu.'

Glancing at his teammates he exchanged a look with Setsuna then with Haku.

"Let's find another entrance in," Haku whispered.

The blond nodded. With his special forehead he'd seen through the genjutsu easily. The 'boy' up front was actually a chunin. The two chunin were discouraging the younger and less experienced genin from progressing, probably as a hidden test meant to weed out the undeserving applicants. With everyone focused on the main entrance, it was easy for the trio to slip into one of the other entrances, bypassing everyone else as they registered for the exam.

It was nearly two hours later when the first of the genin teams appeared on the third floor. Clearly the two chunin at the front entrance had discouraged more than enough genin teams or someone had finally announced what was going on as teams flooded the registration table.

# # # # #

'_It's definitely him,'_ the young Hyuga thought as she eyed the blond as her team registered. Using her clan's special eyes, she could see his spiky blond hair and the sharp, blue eyes that made him stand out. Even with her special eyes she couldn't pierce the bandages and mask that covered his mouth and cheeks, but she was sure that they hid his distinctive whisker marks rather than some horrible scars. She'd managed to see his face when he'd been eating, but something on the bindings activated a seal that prevented her from seeing his face once he had them on. The forehead protector though was different as it somehow disrupted and distorted the flow of chakra around him, probably designed to protect him from genjutsu.

It didn't take long for her teammates to spot the distinctive group of samurai/ninja. None of the other teams wore the distinctive blackened steel forehead protectors. Unlike the other villages, Steel did not mark their forehead protectors with a symbol.

The group was just as distinctive as their markers though, making them stand out even more to the rest of the genin. The blond was masked, but his striking blue eyes drew attention away from his bindings/bandages. Shirtless, the bindings on his chest and stomach suggested that he was well muscled. The long flowing jacket he wore was open in the front but was a metallic blue with white flames. His pants were a metallic blue with white flames on the right leg, and the sheaths for one set of his katana and wakizashi were metallic blue while the other set was white. Even the hilts of the weapons were done in the blue and white combo.

The other boy on the team wore an outfit of light grey with pale blue and soft white trim.

The lone girl on the team simply wore a soft grey backless vest and steel grey shorts and matching boots. Her sheaths were metallic black as were the hilts of her swords.

"You see it too, don't you cousin?" the long black haired boy asked as he slipped beside her.

Hinata simply nodded. "They're hiding something."

"We're all hiding something," he replied. "Some better than others."

Curious, the young Hyuga glanced at her cousin's teammate as he made a beeline for her teammate in his distinctive blue jacket and the Uchiha family crest on the back.

"You are Uchiha Sasuke," the green clad boy stated as he inserted himself between the mysterious blond and the Uchiha heir.

"Get out of my way," the younger ninja growled.

"I would like to spar with you before the exams begin," the taller boy stated as he forced a smile to his face.

"It seems that everyone wants a piece of the Uchiha," the grey haired genin smirked.

"We can use that room," the boy with the bowl cut suggested as he tilted his head towards a vacant room.

"Yeah, we're gonna see a fight!" someone shouted.

"Isn't that the Uchiha?" someone else exclaimed as they took notice of the two boys.

"Kick his ass!"

"Aren't they both Leaf ninja?"

"Who cares, a fight's a fight!"

Hinata could feel her teammate scowling.

"Fine," Sasuke finally said, falling to peer pressure. "But I want him after I kick your ass," he pointed to the blond.

"If you can kick his ass," the boy returned.

A crowd of genin followed the two boys into the vacant room, drawn by the prospect of an entertaining fight and seeing the last Uchiha in action. The large, bi-level room left the boys with plenty of room as the crowd of genin perched themselves on the walls, walkway, and stairs of the room.

"I am Rock Lee," the boy in green announced.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

"I am honored that you have accepted my challenge."

"Hn."

In a flash the boy in green spandex vanished, appearing at the Uchiha's feet as he kicked them out from underneath the other boy.

"Man, dude's fast!"

"That was so cheap!" several girls screamed.

"He wasn't even ready!"

Sasuke flipped in the air, managing to land on his feet only to be greeted with a stiff kick to the face that sent him flying.

"He's faster than you," Setsuna remarked to her new teammate.

"And he's definitely got some power behind his blows," the blond added.

"So much for this year's rookie of the year," the long haired Hyuga interjected as he slipped in beside the trio from Steel.

"It's only a hollow title," the blond added.

"True," the Hyuga returned. "In some cases at least. I was rookie of the year last year. My teammate was last year's dead last, yet he's easily handing it to the number one rookie of this year."

"He's on your team?" Setsuna asked as Sasuke got to his feet.

"Yes," the Hyuga replied. "And you are?"

"From Steel," the blond replied.

"Obviously," the other boy ceded. "I am Hyuga Negi."

"Hyuga – yeah, the eyes…" the pale girl muttered. "Setsuna Sakurai."

"Hinata Hyuga," the other girl said as she inserted herself into the conversation.

"Haku Momochi," the effeminate boy replied. "What interesting eyes you two have."

"And you must be Naruto," Hinata said quickly, changing the focus of the conversation immediately.

"Just Naruto," the blond interjected, cutting of the younger Hyuga.

"He's an orphan," Setsuna added, "doesn't know who his parents are."

Neither Hyuga allowed any emotions to grace their facial features, simply taking what the girl said as fact.

Below them Sasuke barely managed to dodge a sweeping kick to his knee and the swift spinning roundhouse that followed.

"He's getting faster," Naruto stated; his focus back on the match below.

Forced to jump back to avoid the kick, Sasuke and most in the room were surprised when the green clad boy vanished, appearing directly behind the other boy before connecting with a punishing elbow to the small of the other boy's back.

"You should probably stop your teammate," Haku suggested.

"My other teammate will do that," Neji countered.

Though she turned to face the fight, Hinata activated her eyes, eyeing the strange girl beside Naruto. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't see into or through the girl or her teammates. Something about their forehead protectors disrupted the special eyes of the Byakugan. Glancing at Neji, it was clear that he was bothered by it as well.

Not wanting to reveal too much about himself or his team, Naruto decided not to say anything as he pretended to focus on the fight below.

Sasuke Uchiha managed to put his arms up to block a flying spin kick but the force of the blow sent him skidding.

Several in the crowd cheered while some of the Leaf Kunoichi screamed in protest.

"Kick his ass!" someone shouted.

Again Sasuke was pulling himself to his feet, this time wiping some blood from his lips.

"Uchiha… why is that familiar?" Haku muttered.

Neji eyed the other boy. From the odd look on his face it was clear that he really didn't know about the Uchiha.

"The Uchiha and Hyuga both have a Kekkie Genkai," Setsuna supplied.

"Ah, the eyes," Haku nodded.

Beneath them Lee rocked Sasuke with a right uppercut. The younger boy managed to counter, using the momentum of the blow to send a kick at Lee that clipped the other boy's cheek.

"My teammate is getting faster," Hinata stated.

"The Uchiha?" Haku asked.

The short haired girl nodded. "He can walk on water now."

Naruto was glad for the mask he wore as it prevented the others from seeing his face properly and hid any signs that he'd reacted to what she'd said. Yes, she clearly knew that he'd been in Wave back then. How many of them knew? Would it disrupt his mission?

"His teammate's holding back," Setsuna stated. "See how he's not even straining himself?

"Weights?" the blond nodded then whistled. "I wonder how fast he is without them? Probably faster than you?"

Seeing the older Hyuga stiffen ever so slightly Naruto smirked beneath his mask.

"Lee," a girl in a white gi said, prompting the boy in green to stop his assault on the clearly overmatched Uchiha.

Again the boy vanished even as he was about to trade kicks with the last Uchiha. Reappearing at the other end of the room he stood tall then bowed. "Thank you for the spar," he said, clearly disappointed.

"It's not over!" Sasuke growled.

"Unless you wish to miss the Chunin Exams, it is," a steely voice interrupted.

Everyone looked up at the ceiling at the Leaf jonin standing up-side-down. Terrible scars ran across his face, but it was his hard eyes that froze all the genin.

"You have ten minutes to report to room 313 and find your seats," he announced. In a puff of smoke he vanished.

"I guess it's time," Naruto shrugged. Mimicking the jonin, the three Steel genin vanished, leaving the pair of Hyuga alone.

# # # # #

A/N

That's it for now. Please Review.

Dreamingfox


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